Doctor's Appointment, 34 weeks 3 days

Seems like I'm always going to the doctor now! We showed up a little early, I peed in a cup and sat in the waiting room for only a minute until they told me to go to the "first room". I've never been in there, usually I'm in the second room (for ultrasounds) except for my first two appointments when I was in the third room (for exams). Turns out they wanted to hook me up to a fetal heart rate monitor, which they'll do for the rest of my appointments. It takes 30 minutes, which we weren't expecting, but it was fun laying there listening to his little heart beating so fast! I had to lay on my side with the monitors on both sides of my stomach, with my head on what looked like a giant Boppy. The FHR monitor measures his heart rate and my contractions (if any, but none yet!) to make sure we're both doing well.

After that, we went into the room I'm used to for the rest of my appointment. Weight (not much change from my last appointment), blood pressure (a tiny bit high but nothing to worry about) and ultrasound. I think Hayden had just shifted that morning into a more vertical position, because my belly felt not so lopsided for the first time in awhile. He's settled a little more with his head down near my pelvis, but continues to move like a little wiggle worm with what room he has left! He's about 5 lbs, 7 oz right now and is growing just fine. Heart rate, amniotic fluid, blood flow to the umbilical cord are all fine, so we're just trucking along. He wasn't in a good position for an ultrasound pic for us, neither the regular nor the 3D. So no pictures this time, but it's just as well since our master scanner, Dandy, has already shipped her household goods including her scanner!

Today I'm having a mini-baby shower lunch with some of my fun ladies today and I can't wait! Jay should have a long weekend so we're ready to relax and have some fun. We also have a halloween party this weekend and can't wait to wear our costumes! Oscar's been a little sick lately so I think we're all ready for a little break.

Crazy? I might be

So I'm having a huge internal debate about getting an epidural when Hayden makes his entrance. If I were in the states, the question would be less difficult, and I would just make the judgment call when I needed to. But here it's different.

Most of my friends who have delivered in Germany and have had an epidural say that the pain was only slightly dulled, and that basically it was turned off at "crunch time". I know that the epidural basically slows down labor, and the Germans are nothing if not efficient. My friends who have had babies stateside speak lovingly of their epidurals, that allowed them to only feel a slight pressure when the baby was delivered.

By now you probably also know I have a fear and hatred of needles. I was never a huge fan of the idea of a giant needle being pushed into my spine. Now I'm starting to think that it's a risky procedure that just may not be worth it if when I need it most, it's turned off. I think it will turn out to be a decision I make in the moment, but for right now I think I'm going to try it without the epidural, and see how it goes. Then again, the best laid plans of mice and men...

Doctor's Appointment, 32 weeks, 5 days

What an exciting appointment! We did the usual pee-in-a-cup, weight, check blood for iron, blood pressure. Everything was fine. My blood pressure was a little low but the doctor wasn't concerned so we aren't either.

He spent a lot of time on the ultrasound, measuring and whatnot. Hayden is already 5 lbs! Hard to believe because for so long he was just a wee little thing and now he's almost a real baby! Well, you know what I mean :-) Our doctor said he's a little bigger than average, by about a half pound (I blame Jay) and is measuring about a week ahead of my due date. So he may come a little earlier than November 30th. It was hard to get a good 3D visual this time, but it was fun for Jay and I to see him in there.

After we finished up, we headed to the hospital. The hospital where I'll give birth, St. Joseph's, is about a 3-5 minute walk from my doctor's office. That's good news, because if it's in the middle of the day my doctor can just walk right over when Hayden's ready to make his entrance. He showed us where to go in and where to park, where to check in and into the maternity ward. It's a lot different than I thought it would be! The ceilings are high and lofty, so the whole section of the hospital seems very roomy. He showed us the two rooms where I can hang out when I'm still a bit away from delivery, to relax and listen to music or watch tv. The maternity unit is staffed by nurses and midwives, who will examine me to check dilation, contractions, etc. But the whole thing seems pretty laid back. He showed us a delivery room, which is very un-hospital like to me. It's not white and sterile looking, but has dimming lights, a bathtub (not for birthing, but just relaxing) and a bed, monitors and a scale. He said after delivery I'll spend about 2 hours there to make sure the baby and I are okay.

After that, there are the rooms I'll spend the rest of my hospital stay in. The rooms are set up for single or double occupancy. We have the option to reserve a single room when we get there, for a small fee that our insurance doesn't cover. In addition, we can also pay out of pocket to have Jay stay the night. We discussed it, and think we'll reserve a private room, and have Jay stay the first night. After that, we figure he can be at home with Oscar and getting us the things we need and visiting us, but sleeping in our bed. Basically they prefer to have the baby in the room with the mother for 24 hours a day, unless mom needs a break! Then the midwives will take them to the nursery and bring them for feedings.

The midwives are also staffed to help assist mothers with nursing and other new-baby things. Typically, if everything goes well with the baby and the mother we'll spend about 2-3 days in the hospital and then head home. If we have an unscheduled C-section we'll be there about 4-5 days. Europeans do not favor the c-section or the epidural, and seem pretty laid back about birth in general. Now that we've seen everything, it's even more exciting, and definitely more "real" as Jay pointed out.

We have another appointment in two weeks, where we'll continue to see how Hayden is growing and where we stand. It's getting close!

Getting ready for baby!

What a busy few days it's been for us! We got three giant boxes of all kinds of baby stuff from Jay's family in VA, so much that it filled up four washers! I washed crib and bassinet sheets, onesies and booties, blankets and pajamas. I was on a roll, so I went ahead and washed all his other clothes and sheets and towels (a few more washers full!) and as of right now, everything is clean. Well, until Jay checked the mail. But it's not as much this time!

Jay went on a cleaning spree and we moved around the furniture for his sort-of nursery. Our February move and recalled crib mean that his room is a little sparse. We have his dresser and bassinet, and are still waiting for my chair to get here from the PX in Ramstein. And my friend Jen from college made a sign with Hayden's name on it that should be here soon! He's teaching us to be minimalists, that's for sure.

In addition to washing all of Hayden's stuff, Jay finally unloaded his duffel bags from Afghanistan. That plus our regular laundry means I did TWENTY loads of laundry in THREE days. We spent most of the weekend finally getting some things in order, and I spent all day today cleaning. I think it's less "nesting" and more "the house has been a mess since Jay got home". There's always more to be done, but it's coming along.

Congratulations to Mary Hilliard and Pete, who welcomed Edward Grayson Moran on Sunday at 8 lbs, 8oz. Little blessings everywhere!

I'm in the third-trimester no-sleep phase apparently, and have a hard time falling and staying asleep at night. That makes for long days, even when I get a nap in. Oscar naps with me, on his couch, because he's not sleeping well either! After a few weeks of complete freedom, we've had to reign him in a little, and now he sleeps upstairs again until he can control some of his chewing urges. He'll get there soon, I'm sure. And it'll be easier with clean floors and tables.

Less than nine weeks to go and I can't believe it's almost here!

Doctor's Appointment, 30 weeks

I went to the doctor Thursday for a check up and all is well! We did the usual pee-in-a-cup, weight, blood pressure, and everything is normal. We did the ultrasound, and baby is growing well. He checked Hayden's head and abdomen size, the amniotic fluid and placenta, and the blood flow in the umbilical cord. That was pretty cool looking! Then he switched to 3D view, and we got to see a little bit more of what he looks like! Jay thinks he has my nose. All of this just makes us way more excited to meet him!

After that, it was time for the Rhogam shot I've been dreading. Really it's just because I'm a big ol' baby when it comes to needles. I rolled up my sleeve, and imagine my surprise when my doctor informed me it doesn't GO in my ARM. That's right, drop your pants little lady. Shocked, I said, "WHAT?? Why?? I've never had one there!" He explained it is too much to go into the muscles in my arm, so I turned around while Jay laughed and laughed. I felt a little pinch, but then it kept pinching, and Jay told me that he had to move the needle around once it entered my skin to make sure all the fluid didn't go into one spot, which would cause a giant lump (like a penicillin shot). He assured me there would be no side effects, put a band-aid on it and we were good to go!

We also asked about visiting the hospital, and our doctor is going to take us on a tour! From now on my appointments are every two weeks instead of every four, so we have an appointment on Oct. 9th at 5:30. After our appointment, we're going with Dr. Stadlbauer to see the hospital facilities, and I believe we can pre-register too. That way when it's time for Hayden to be here, we don't have to fill out paperwork in between contractions. 9 weeks to go, and we can't wait!!

My baby shower!

My fabulous friends threw me a baby shower last weekend! We had it at this little pub on post that's really only open when you have an event, and it was adorable! We had lots of great food, and played some hilarious games. Normally I'm opposed to baby shower games, but these were cute! We all wore nametags with names related to baby, and you had to call everyone by their new baby-name. Otherwise, you had to put money in Hayden's piggy bank! He made $8.51 and 7.20 in euro. He's rich!

Dandy had frozen wee little pigs in styrofoam cups, and each person was given one. The object was to melt the ice, or "break the water" by any means. Some people got very creative! We played another game where our guests divided up into two teams and everyone was given a balloon. Each person had to blow up and tie the ballon and put it under their shirt, and be "pregnant". Once each member of the team had become pregnant, it was time to deliver! They had to pop the balloon, and once the last person had "given birth", the team wins! We played the toilet paper game, where each guest had to guess how many squares of toilet paper it would take to go around my belly. The magic number? 10!

After all the games we opened presents, and Hayden and I got tons of great stuff! Clothes, blankets, books, toys, nursing aids for me, and some great advice from all of my friends who are experienced moms. Best of all, the dads watched the kids so ALL the moms could enjoy themselves for a few hours! A huge thanks to Dandy, Amber and Sam for a great shower, and to everyone who came and made it so much fun!

Bummer!

We discovered last week that the crib we purchased has been recalled! There's a defect in a tiny piece of it that causes the drop side to come down on its own, so we returned it this weekend. Our new plan is just to wait until we return to the states and get one, since Hayden will still be in the bassinet when we head out of Germany. But a bummer nonetheless! Then again, I've never been upset about buying new furniture, so now we have another adventure that awaits us in just a few months!